Vampire Gifts
by LightOfTheUniverse
Summary: Four Hunters, four Vampire Leaders, who knew that opposites would attract? Gaara/OC Sasuke/OC Naruto/Hinata and Neji/Tenten. Dark Fic. Enjoy! -
1. Chapter 1

_**Vampire Gifts**_

_**Chapter 1**_

_**Nikki: Hulloo, hulloo, hulloo, my kiddios! =]**_

_**Rachel: .* Da fuck...? I don't even know.... I.... n-durrr....**_

_**Ava: O.o... Okay?**_

_**Nikki: I dudn't own Naruto or any lyrics, only the plot. P;**_

_**Rach: -splodes-**_

_**Nikki: Huh... usually that Ava if I use to many words....**_

_**Ava: -already splodeded-**_

_**Nikki: Ah well. Might as well join the partay! -splodes-**_

_**Gaara: -in smexxeh monotone voice- Read on.**_

_**IAIAIAIAIAIAIAIAIAIAIAIAIAIAIAIAIAIAIAIAIAIAIAIAIAIAIAIAIAIAIAIAIAIA**_

Okay. Let me tell you about the situation of the world. Back in the 21st century, Vampires were believed to be extinct, just a fairy tale. This is not so. Four Vampires were kept alive after the great Vampire Hunt, for study reasons. They were experiments, weakened to the point of near-death. Unknown to the scientists, the four Vampires were actually growing stronger. The longer a Vampire is kept alive, the more powerful it becomes. On the Eve of the 23rd century, the four Vampires escaped the building in which they had been held in for two centuries.

They escaped, thirsty and half-mad with rage. They ran through the closest towns, biting anyone they could find, drinking their blood, but not all of it. They then cut their own wrists and poured a couple of drops down the victims throat, changing their genes and turning them into Vampires. How strong the human is before he/she is turned judges how powerful the Vampire they are to become will be.

This continued for just over 10 years before we were formed. The most powerful weapon the humans possessed against the Vampires. We are the Hunters. We were born as normal humans with extraordinary powers and raised as trained fighters against the creatures that hunted humans like the humans hunted animals.

My name is Nicole Peters. I am of the Four most powerful Vampire Hunters to graze the Earth. I look beside me to my right and see my partner, Rachel Winter, who is also one of the Four. Our black hair flutters in the heated breeze as her ocean blue eyes meet my flame orange ones.

We have been partnered for a reason. For some reason, I have been given the powers to control fire and air, as well as telepathy. Rachel, on the other hand, has been given the power to control water and earth, as well as super speed.

We nod to each other, turning away from the burning house in front of us, which contains a screaming family of newly turned Vampires.

It is time to meet the other half of the Four.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

"You're late." Sakura scolds us. Her bubblegum pink hair is so bright in the lamp light that it's hard to look at, so I turn away. I undo and slip off my black cloak and my weapons, revealing my uniform beneath it.

The Four have specific uniforms that they need to hold. These consist of a strapless black shirt that shows of some of your midriff, a pair of short black shorts and black knee high boots. The Four must also have streaks with their assigned colours in their hair. Little clothing helps to move around more. Long ago has the embarrassment of wearing so little faded away. I now feel confident walking around like this.

Sakura starts her lecture. "You cannot be late like this again, Nachie! You have yet to do a full stack of paperwork on the turn out of this mission, have a full physical check and you still need to-"

"If you don't shut up, I'm going to shove fire so far up your ass it will be coming out of your mouth!" I interrupt. She cowers away from my enraged glare and shuts her mouth tight. Sometimes I curse my bad temper.

"Please, take us to Tenata. We desperately need to see them." Rachel asks, placing her hand soothingly on my shoulder. The truth is, we don't need to see Tenata. We just want to.

"Sorry Sakura. It's just been a long, Vampire slaying night." I sigh, holding my hand out to her. She nervously accepts it. If I don't respect my workers, they won't stick by me.

"I will take you to Tenata, then your physicals? We only want to keep you healthy." Sakura explains, her nerves are still edgy from my verbal attack.

"Yes. Okay." I answer, trying to force a smile at her. If she'd only seen the things that I have...

We reach a set of huge set of cherry oak doors, carefully engraved. Sakura opens the door for us and we step into the Four's meeting room.

It looks like a modern lounge room, really. It has a fireplace, three sets of couches, two flat screen plasmas, with the latest gaming systems included, CD players and CD galore and even a little microwave shaped thing that when you say what you want into it, it gives it to you, cooked to perfection. I make a b-line for that.

"Two bags of Doritos and four hot chocolates." I say into the microwave, feeling stupid as hell. The Four do like to have a bit of a rest after a mission.

"Rachel! Nikki!" Tenten and Hinata exclaim, running over and hugging us. We've been like sisters ever since we were first recruited. All our families were killed. How ironic that we all met up.

As their powers, Tenten has the power of telekinesis and Strength, whereas Hinata has been given invisibility and healing powers, unmatched by anyone. It's always great to have a healer.

"How was your mission?" Hinata asks, shaking her white and black hair slightly.

"Not to hard for these two I bet." Tenten replies, laughing and running her hand through her black and green hair. Rachel and I smirk. In case you haven't figured it out, Tenata is Tenten and Hinata's team name and Nachie is Rachel and my team name. Just in case you didn't figure it out.

"Here." I say, handing out the hot chocolates and carrying the Doritos over to the coffee table in the middle of the circle of couches. I throw them on it and curl up on a couch. Rach, Hinata and Tenten curl up on the other couches and we get comfortable.

"What did you do on this mission? How many Vampires?" Hinata asks. I bring my drink closer to me and blow away some of the steam.

"It wasn't difficult physically. We had to kill a whole family. They even had a small infant with them. We burnt the house down. We didn't quite catch the Vampires responsible, but we have clues that show that at least one of the Leaders was there." Rach and I say, taking turns in putting in the details.

"I hate taking out families." Tenten sighs. "Children especially. They always seem so innocent."

"Yeah. But this is war. We need to do what we have to." Rachel replies. We are silent for a while. I notice that no one has had a drink of their hot chocolates yet.

"Let's all drink some of our hot chocolates. They might make us feel better." I suggest, trying to put some bubbliness into my statement. We all take a gulp of the liquid, then look at each other worryingly.

"This hot chocolate tastes funny..." Hinata gets out before she faints, dropping the rest of her hot chocolate onto the floor. I watch as Tenten and Rachel follow her into darkness. I didn't drink as much as them, so it takes me longer to blank out. I see a feminine figure in the doorway, and a flash of bubblegum pink and honey blonde hair.

Damn traitors.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

(Sakura's POV)

Gosh. The Four are actually lighter than they look. Tsunade, Kiba, Ino and I are getting the Four out of the Hunter Headquarters, were they will then be loaded into a car and driven to the Vampire Headquarters. I sigh at how angry they are going to be when they wake up. Hopefully, I will be far away by then.

We load them into the one car and head out of Konoha, or, what's left of it.

The buildings are in ruins and long gone are the perfect green fields that are pictured in ancient photos. How life must have been so simple then. At least they didn't have to deal with man-hunting Vampires that want to strike a peace bargain.

I sigh again as we reach the castle. Very stereotypical if you ask me. It's huge and made with ancient grey blocks of rock. It's got a dark beauty to it, if you ask me.

We carry the stirring bodies of the Four into the castle, through the front doors and into the main hall, where, upon four thrones at the end of the hall, sit the four Leaders.

First, there is Neji Hyuuga. Dark brown hair and cold white-ish pink eyes. His brown hair is tied up at the end, making a really loose ponytail thing.

Next, there is Naruto Uzumaki. Blonde-haired, blue-eyed hunk-a-spunk. His hair is fashionably spiked and his ice blue eyes seem to pierce through me.

In complete comparison to Naruto, next to him is Sasuke Uchiha, in his black haired, black eyed perfection. His hair has been spiked up at the back with two bits of his on either side of his face, the ever famous "chicken-butt-hair" look.

Finally, at the end of the row, is Gaara Sabaku. His blood red hair taking on the perfect "just got out of bed" look and his jade green eyes look emotionlessly in our direction.

They are all glaring at us and we gulp.

"You're late." Sasuke growls at us.

"We apologize. We have brought what you requested." I reply, shaking verbally and physically.

"I see that. We accept your peace bargain. The Vampires will be notified soon. Leave." Neji answers harshly, sending power in our direction. We are hit with the wave and blown out of the door.

I land outside, bouncing a couple of times before coming to a complete stop. I cough against the dust that has clouded around me and wince. Where the power surge hit, my skin is red and raw and sharp rocks and such have cut into the skin visible on my body, making bruises begin to form already and blood begin to seep through my clothes.

I weakly stand up and we make our way back to the car.

I wish those girls luck. By God, I wish them luck.

_**In the Castle of DOOOOOOOOOOOOMM!!!!!!!! =OOOO**_

"Which one do you want, Neji." Naruto asks, eying off Hinata.

"I want the one who's hair is streaked with green." Neji replies, picking Tenten up, bridle-style.

"I'll have the one with blue." Sasuke scowls, picking Rachel up.

Gaara says nothing, but goes over to Nicole and picks her up, carrying her to his room upstairs.

Naruto laughs evilly, rubbing his hands together. "Excellent." he chuckles, picking Hinata up and racing her up to his room.

_**Later..................**_

(Nicole's POV)

I fight my mind away from the grogginess that's clouding my senses. I am eventually able to pry my eyes open. When they are fully open, I try to get up and attack whoever is in the room, but I find that it's impossible.

It feels as if something heavy is pressing down on me, preventing me from moving and making breathing slightly harder. I struggle against the invisible weights before I feel the presence of another mind. I lie still again and try to access the information in his head.

Before I can though, a mental block is put up.

"Try to do that again, and I will kill you." a monotonous voice growls from the shadows.

"I'd like to see you try." I smirk confidently. Whoever this person is, they must be feeling pretty eager to die.

"You don't seem to be in the position to be snarky, Nicole." he chuckles. The weight presses down on me more, and the breath rushes out of me. I try to take another breath but find I can't. The weight is still too strong.

I struggle harder against the weight and begin turning red in the face. I can hear a chuckle in the corner and the weight lessens a little. I take a deep staggering breath.

I look in the shadows and see an outline of a figure.

"What the fuck do you want from me?" I ask harshly, scowling at the outline.

"Everything." he answers, showing himself. I gasp as I recognize who it is. Shit.

Gaara Sabaku. I saw him once. He was the one who killed my family, drained them dry.

"You bastard! I'll kill you!" I yell, struggling even harder than ever against the weights. I face him, take a deep breath and shoot fire at him through my mouth. He dodges neatly and puts the fire out.

I use my power over air to try to lift the weight off of me.

"I'LL FUCKING RIP YOUR HEAD OFF!" I scream, managing to lift the weights off of me enough to wriggle out from under it. He grunts as he tries to keep the weight on top of me.

I reach down for where my weapons would usually be, but find them missing. It looks like I'll have to kill him the old-fashioned way. I run at him with my fist raised. I'm about to punch him in the face when he catches my wrist and twists it behind my back. I cry out, but lift my foot up and kick him as hard as I can in the groin.

The breath rushes out of him for a second, but then he just twists my arm harder. I yell. If it's twisted one more time, the bone will snap. I know it.

"Don't move." Gaara snarls.

"I'm not afraid to die." I answer back, breathing hard in pain.

"You should be." he replies, licking up my neck. I shudder in disgust.

"Let me go you murderer." I cry.

"You would know that I'm a murderer, wouldn't you, Nicole? If you taste as sweet as your parents did, I'm an extremely lucky Vampire." he states, smirking.

"You'll never know. I hope you'll enjoy disappointment." I snarl, coating my arm in fire. He drops my arm and I jump away from him.

"I _will_ know how your blood tastes, Nicole." Gaara states, throwing me against the stones on his wall.

I notice that we are in a bedroom, his I'm guessing. It has a huge, four poster bed that I was on before, an ancient bookcase, a door to an en suite, ancient wooden desk and a big window, which I'm next to. I'm pinned to the wall. Joy...

"Let me go so I can beat your ass all the way to next Wednesday!" I wince. My face feels really raw and sore. _**(AN: Hehe... Raw and sore.... hehe)**_

He walks over to me and I turn my face away so I don't have to look at him. He wrenches my chin around to look him in the eyes.

"You have pretty eyes." he states. He laughs evilly as I struggle against the bonds.

"I hate you. I HATE YOU!" I sob, tears which I have been holding back spill over.

"I hate you. So much." I whisper, then become silent. I stop struggling.

He lets his power shield thing down and I fall to the floor limply and don't bother getting up. I just curl up in a ball as I remember the night my family was murdered.

_I was around 10 years old. I was a little girl who still believed the world was full of rainbows and that creatures like Unicorns are real. I was playing in the sand pit around the back with my barbie dolls. That was... until I heard a scream._

_I pick up my dolls and run into the house._

"_Mummy? Daddy?" I call in my innocent child voice. I walk into the kitchen but freeze in the doorway. My dollies drop to the floor, drawing the attention of the only occupant of the room._

_My dad is on the floor, surrounded by his own blood. His face is a mask of pain and his throat has been torn open. I gasp and then look up to the other man in the room. He is holding my mum by her collar. Her face is also masked with pain but her eyes find mine. Her throat has puncture marks all over it and blood is seeping out of the wounds._

_She tries to tell me something, but only a choked, painful gurgle comes out. I start to back away, but the man drops my mum and heads towards me. My mum's head comes into contact with the corner of the table and a crack is heard. She's dead now._

_I sob and then look back up at the man with tears running down my face. He bends down to me._

_  
His blood red hair shines in the lamplight and his jade green eyes look at me hungrily. I sniffle._

"_Why? Why my parents?" I ask, sobbing. He just puts his finger on his lips, as if he were shushing me and kisses my lips._

_I blank out._

I feel him come over to me. He puts his hand near me, as if to grab my shoulder, but I shrink away from him.

"Don't touch me." I growl quietly. I feel his hand draw away and I hear a shuffle of clothing, then the slight puffy sound of a mattress being squashed down. He's on the bed. I just stay where I am, crying silently.

"Whether you like it or not, you're mine now. You've been given to me." Gaara sighs from the bed.

I say nothing. Even though it has happened, I don't have to be nice about it. Gaara sighs in frustration from the bed.

"Do you want to know why you're here or not?" Gaara asks, getting annoyed. I say nothing.

"Answer me!" he yells.

"Yes." I whisper.

"Come over here then so that I can tell it to your face." he states, frustrated. He waits for a minute as I try and decide if I should go over or not. I think that it'd probably be best if I go and listen. I slowly get up and walk over to the bed. I stand at the bottom of it with my head down. He rolls over so that he's no longer on his side and sits up so that he's facing me. He smirks and pats the bed next to him.

I scowl at him under my hair and walk over to the side of the bed. He pats the bed again and I sit down on the very edge of it, my shoulders tensed. He realizes that this is as close as I'm willing to get to him.

"You are part of a peace bargain." he starts, looking for any reaction. Seeing none, he continues. "The humans proposed that we have peace between the races. At first, they offered us as large of an amount of money we wanted, but we don't need money. Then they offered us _anything_ we wanted. We thought about this. If we had the Hunters most useful weapon at our disposal, we practically controlled the Hunters. Surprised we were to find out that the most powerful weapon the humans had were four women." Gaara laughs.

I clenched my fists. "And I was surprised once again to find out that one of those women was an orphan who'd family I'd murdered. The one I spared the life of. The one who is destined to be my mate." he continues, watching my shocked reaction at the end of his last sentence.

"What? Like hell am I _ever_ going to be _your_ mate. I fucking hunt your kind and, frankly, I hate your fucking guts." I growl, turning around to glare at him.

He shrugs his shoulders and smirks. "Once again, like it or not, it's destiny. Holy shit I'm sounding like Hyuuga." Gaara chuckles. I just silently fume. He sighs and reaches over to touch me again. He lightly touches my forearm but I jump up and away from him.

"Just don't touch me." I snarl, opening the bathroom door and slamming it behind me.

I slide down the door and put my head in my arms.

"I fucking hate my life. Where's a reasonable, random opponent when you need one? Where are the others when I need them?" I sob.

"Why would the others betray us? We have been loyal. I've lost my temper a few times, but I've always made up for it. What did we do to deserve this?" I ask myself. I look around the bathroom. There's a shower, sink, bathtub (which is more like a spa) and toilet. Above the toilet, there is a reasonably big window.

An idea strikes me. I look at the door, then get up quietly. I make my way quickly over to the window. I stand on the toilet and open the window. It creaks. I know that he is aware of me know. I force air on the door, pinning it closed.

I can hear him banging against it. I jump up and start crawling through the door. I hear the door burst off it's hinges and I look back at Gaara's enraged face. I slip the rest of the way out, just avoiding his hand graping my ankle.

"GET BACK HERE!" Gaara yells at me. I run for my life, because, indeed, it's for my life. I feel him making his way out of the window too, so I race across the rooftop. A few tiles slip from underneath me but every time one does, I manage to steady myself and keep running. He's gaining on me. Shit. And I've reached the end of the rooftop. Double shit.

I abandon all sense and leap from the roof, into open air.

"NO!" I hear Gaara scream behind me, before all I hear is rushing wind. I plummet to the ground, the cold air stinging my eyes. I laugh in a slightly maniacal tone, in a really maniacal situation.

Just as I'm about to reach the ground, I flip and bend the air around me to soften my fall. My landing is still really rough and I fall over and roll as I hit the ground. I cough as I get up and then cry out at the pain in my ankle. I reach down to it and hold it for a second. I conclude that it isn't broken, just a bad sprain.

I get back up and run/limp towards the forest. Just as I reach the insde of the forest, I swamped by a horde of Vampires.

"Sure, just my luck." I curse. I put two fingers to my mouth, spread them and blow fire through the gap.

"Need a little assistance?" Gaara smirks from behind me. I half turn around but one Vampire jumps on me. I look into it's face and gasp at it's morbidity. It's face is all out of shape and it's breath stinks like blood and death. I struggle with it as it keeps trying to bite me, until it is ripped away from me.

"You may be an annoying little shit that tried to escape, you will be punished for that, but I don't want you being turned by anyone other than me, or injured by anyone other than me. Do you all understand that?" Gaara asks, half to me, and half to the Vampires.

"Yes, master." they chorus. In my head I'm laughing. Igor and Professor Frankenstein. Hehe... funny.

But on the outside, I'm actually shit scared. I'd be able to fight decently with Gaara, maybe even win, if I had my weapons. Curse those fucking traitors.

I'm then yanked up roughly by my arm, of course by Gaara.

"Now, what to do with you." Gaara ponders, practically dragging me back to the castle.

I hold back tears as I almost twist my bruised ankle, but I couldn't stop my pained gasp. He half looks behind his shoulder at me but I compose my face and show nothing except anger at being towed back to the castle.

"I hate you." I snarl at him suddenly. He stops abruptly and yanks me into him. He leans down and kisses me forcefully. I struggle as hard as I can. I heat up my body temperature to an unbearable heat. His arms just tighten around me, making it almost impossible to breathe.

"Let.. go of me!" I yell, turning my face away and struggling even more. "Leave me alone!"

"If I had left you alone back there, you would have died!" Gaara states, returning to dragging me back to his home.

"I don't care! I'd rather die than be a mate of the murderer of my parents!" I confess, trying and failing to rip my arm out of his grasp.

"Would you now? Let's see about that." Gaara suggests, opening the huge oak doors that lead into the castle.

"What do you mean?" I ask, worrying like crazy on the inside.

"You'll see." he smirks, dragging me down a stone staircase. All of a sudden, he thrusts me forward, throwing me down the rest of the stairs. I bang against the steps and whimper when I reach the bottom. As Gaara sweeps past, he yanks my arm up and he starts dragging me again.

"What the fuck was that stair thing for?" I ask harshly, wincing in pain. He smashes me against the wall and keeps going. I cry out in pain as my back comes into brutal contact with the wall.

I decide to say nothing this time. He eventually reaches an iron gate with a flap at the bottom and a metal slide thing at the top. He throws me inside the damp, smelly room.

"Now, stay in here until you come to realize how actually nice I've been. I've given you a room, a comfortable stay, everything. Now you'll really know how people like you are treated." Gaara says through the slide at the top of the door.

This isn't the first time that I'd been captured, but all the other times were under better circumstances. Like, for instance, there was always the stereotypical half circle window with the bars across it, I could always burn my way out of it, or really thin walls that I could feel breeze through, easy to break down. But, most importantly, my friends were always there to save me.

I go to one of the walls, the one on the right side of the room. I put my ear to the least gross part of the wall and listen carefully as I knock it. Nup. Solid. I move on to the wall opposite the door. I knock on it too. Solid as well. I'm starting to panic. I race to the next wall, give it the same treatment. Solid. Shit. I begin to hyperventilate. Closed in spaces are what I'm scared of.

I refuse to call for help. Instead, I look around the room for any other form of escape. The room, more a cell, is made of dark grey, almost black, blocks of rock. The walls and the floor are covered in slippery moss and there is a horrid bed in the corner. The bed is basically a rag on the floor with a pillowcase stuffed with straw to lye your head on. In the other corner, there is a basic toilet, looking old and cracked and a sink in the same condition. I shudder and to keep the hyperventilation at bay, study the big door.

I go over to it and knock on it. It reverberates a dull "clung" sound back to me. I take a deep breath and use some hand movements to bend air against the door. My breath leaves me in the effort I'm making. The door doesn't budge, but the slide moves and someone's face is in the gap.

"You won't be getting out of here any time soon. Lord Gaara told us specifically that your are to be escorted by him outside for only half an hour a day, and your meals will be brought to you by him only. Welcome to hell, Hunter." the Vampire says, adding the last bit in his head.

"Fuck you." I answer harshly, wincing and grabbing at my throbbing rib. I cough and blood comes out. I fall to the ground and cough again, painting a part of one of the bricks a bright red.

"Shit." I gasp, taking my hand away from my side. The Vampire on the other side of the slide watches me struggling for breath.

I lean my back against the wall, trying to take a deep breath and failing. I just end up coughing more.

"Gee, I'd get you a nurse or something, but Lord Gaara told us that we mustn't." the Vampire explains, looking at me a with a bit of worry.

"What's your name?" I ask him breathlessly.

"Kakashi." he answers. I nod my head and lean my head against the bricks. I close my eyes and slip into a world of pain filled darkness.

So much can happen in such little time....

_**IAIAIAIAIAIAIAIAIAIAIAIAIAIAIAIAIAIAIAIAIAIAIAIAIAIAIAIAIAIAIAIAIAIA**_

_**Nikki: As you have read, this is my darkest fic yet.  
Rachel: Yeah, but it's aweshum!!!! xDDDDD**_

_**Ava: Ima no in it. Y.Y**_

_**Nikki: Hehe... P;p**_

_**Ava: R and R plzzzze!!!!!!!**_


	2. Chapter 2

_**Vampire Gifts**_

_**Chapter 2**_

_**Rachel: Wazz goin on?**_

_**Nicole: . Your face.**_

_**Ava: O.o lol? -_-**_

_**Nikki: Yes, Ava. Lol. -rolls eyes-**_

_**Ava: Oh...... huh?**_

_**Rach: Never mind, Ava. Too complicated.**_

_**Nicole: I don't own anything to do with Naruto, or any of the lyrics used. Hehe, I wish!!! P;p**_

_**Ava: Yeah, you do wish.**_

_**Nicole:...... Shut up! -cries- Y.Y**_

_**Ava: Sorry. XD**_

_**Nicole: Aww... I give you this rose. -gives rose- Hopefully you, unlike this rose, will not be cut down in your prime and your corpse displayed as a sign of affection.**_

_**Everyone: .......**_

_**Ava: Dude... Nikki... You're not my bro anymore.**_

_**Rachel: .... -_-* Read.... on....?**_

_**Nicole: Yeah, READ ON!!!!!!! -waves pompoms around- !**_

_****_

(Rachel's POV)

I try to keep my eyes closed, trying to prolong the uncertainty of what has happened, which I know is something bad, because.... you know.... we were drugged and everything. I feel pressure around me, so I slowly open my eyes, meeting a pair of onyx ones.

I jump as the onyx eyes keep on staring into mine. It's definitely a male. I study his features. His hair is as black as night, with two parts of his hair framing his face. His features are pale and perfect, not an imperfection can be found.

"Do you recognize me?" the onyx eyed man finally asks.

"...Should I?" I ask back quietly. He smirks.

"Well, yes. Try to remember back to when you were in the orphanage... Then you'll realize who I am." he states, getting up and going into the bathroom. I sit up and put my head in my hands, trying to remember like I was told to.

"_Haha! Keep away, keep away!" the other children taunted me, throwing my puppy to one another._

"_Let her down! Please, let her down!" I beg, tears streaming down my face._

_I'm around 8, a day or so after I was first sent into the orphanage._

"_You know, it's not nice to pick on someone younger than you." I hear a girl threaten behind the big boys who are teasing me. They turn around, hiding my struggling puppy behind their backs._

"_N-Nicole!" the leader stutters._

"_I, however, have no argument against picking on people older then I am. Back off and give the new girl her puppy back." the girl orders. They nod but don't go to pass the puppy to me._

"_Give the puppy to me, then, or you will be hurt. Badly." the girl growls, scaring the older children and terrifying the younger ones. The leader of the group eventually holds my shocked puppy out to her. She takes it gently from him, but then shifts my puppy to her left arm and twists the leaders arm around. He cries out in pain and she smirks._

"_If I _ever_ catch you doing anything else to any of these children again, I'll hurt you so badly, you'll be in a hospital for weeks, understand?" she snarls in his face. He nods and she releases his arm. They make a walkway for her to me, and I get my first good look of her._

_She has long, black hair, she's tanned and has orange eyes. The surprising thing is, she looks around my age. She walks with confidence and an aura that screams, "Touch me, and you will die". She walks up to me and hands me my puppy. I smile in joy and hug her close to me._

"_Thank you." I whisper to the girl, still cuddling my pup._

"_Your welcome. I'm Nicole Peters." she introduces, smiling at me._

"_Rachel Winter." I reply, smiling back._

I smile to myself at that memory. It was the first time I'd seen Nikki. My smile turns downward at the onslaught of the next memory.

_I'm sitting on my bed, crying my eyes out. My puppy has just died from a brain tumor. Nikki has only now left from comforting me. I'm just a few months older now then before, when I first met her. She has told me her story, I've told her mine._

_My parents were part of a sacrificial ritual done by a group of rogue Vampires. My parents had told me to hide, which I did. I'd thought that if I was good, then they'd come back. Of course, they never did._

"_Rachel, you have a visitor." Julia, our Administration lady, calls from the other side of the door._

"_Just a second please!" I answer, sniffing. I grab a couple of tissues, wipe away my tears and blow my nose. I then run a brush quickly through my black hair._

"_Come in." I sniffle, turning around to face the doorway._

_My bedroom door opens, revealing our blonde, green-eyed Julia, along with a man, mostly obscured by a black cloak. I become wary. Black cloaks never come with anything good._

"_Hello. I'm Rachel Winter." I greet, standing up and holding my hand out to shake hands with him. I hear my bedroom door close and the man bends down to kiss the back of my hand._

"_Hello, Miss Winter." he replies in a smooth tone. I blush slightly._

"_How may I help you, sir?" I ask nervously._

"_I've come to pay you a visit and to give you a present." he tells me. I can see a smile on his lips beneath the cloak._

"_Why thank you, mister." I state, shocked._

"_Here you are." the man says, reaching behind him and pulling something gently out of his cloak. I can't believe my eyes._

"_Oh. It's gorgeous." I sigh, tearful. This stranger has bought me a new puppy. I burst into tears and hug the man. I know it's not proper, but stuff being proper. He stiffens but eventually returns my hug._

"_Not to be impolite, sir, but what is your name?" I ask, burying my face in the folds of his cloak._

"_Sasuke." he answers, petting my hair down._

My eyes widen as I look to the bathroom door. Him? No way. The door opens and he reveals himself. The smile pinches at his lips and he looks into my eyes, knowing that I've figured it out.

"Who are you, Sasuke?" I ask. He sighs happily as I speak his name.

"My name is Sasuke Uchiha. I am of the four Vampire Leaders. I have received you as a gift of peace. You now belong to me." he answers.

"A... Vampire?" I repeat.

"Yes." he answers.

I put my head on my knees.

"You... visited me... at least once every week... at the orphanage. I looked forward to you coming..." I cried. "All this happened... and I was raised to kill you."

"I know you won't, though." he replies, confident.

I look to him. "Not now I can't. Not knowing it was you."

"I didn't think so." he states. He pauses and listens for a few seconds, then chuckles.

"It seems that Gaara is having a hard time controlling that friend of yours." he laughs.

I glance worryingly around as bangs and a muffled shout of "Get back here" is heard. Then I hear two sets of footprints on the roof. I jump up and look out the window just in time to see Nikki land heavily on the ground. I gasp.

"Be careful, Nikki." I whisper to her. I see her get up and start running into the forest. I look back up and see Gaara jump nimbly after her and start following her.

I feel Sasuke wrap his arms around my waist from behind and rest his chin on my head. I smile slightly but then watch as Gaara reappears with Nikki being dragged along behind him. She trips slightly on her sore ankle. That must've hurt.

"What is he doing to Nikki?" I ask, worrying.

"I don't know. But at least he won't kill her." he answers, trying to sound hopeful.

"How are you so sure?" I question, watching as Gaara kisses Nikki. And, of course, being Nikki and all, she struggles and turns away. He takes her into the castle.

"Because she is his mate. Just as you are mine. If she dies, he dies. He won't take that chance." Sasuke smirks.

"Wait, rewind and pause. I'm your what now?" I scoff, stepping out of his arms and glaring questioningly at him.

"Mate. We are joined by an unbreakable bond. Your friend seems to be having a hard time accepting that and Gaara isn't the patient type." Sasuke answers, shifting the focus back to Nikki and Gaara.

"Well, I'm not going to accept that to easily, either." I sniff, running away from him, super speed style. I skid to a sudden stop and take a couple of steps back. I look at the huge bookcase and stars appear in my eyes.

"So... many... BOOKS!" I squee, whipping the first one I touch out, jumping on the bed and opening the front cover. Sasuke sweatdrops.

"Well, this is going to be interesting." he sighs, shaking his head.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

(Tenten's POV)

I wrench my eyes open, even though my mind is still fogged.

"You're weak." a man states to me. "Your destiny is to always lose."

At hearing this, I take hold of everything in the room that can do damage and raise it into the air. I point them all in the direction of the voice. A slight flash and the man is next to my ear, chuckling.

"You are very lucky to be my mate, Tenten. I'll be the only one strong enough to protect both of us. You'll be practically useless." he sighs.

"You should know all about being useless, won't you, Neji." I smirk. He looks taken aback. "Yes, I know who you are. How is it possible to not recognize one of the the four Vampire Leaders?"

"I'm glad to know that you know all about me." Neji smirks as I sit up.

"I am not weak. I was, but no more." I snarl, glaring at him. "My parents were taken by the Vampires you control to come here, for your food. I was too weak to protect them. You brought me here too, but I was set free."

"You are my mate. I don't regret not killing you, but I regret never trying your blood." Neji laughs, sniffing in my direction. "You smell absolutely edible."

"Okay, ew." I sneer, backing away from him. "That's gross."

(Hinata's POV)

"Wake up! Please, wake up! I wanna talk to chuuuuuu!" I hear a hyperactive guy call, jumping on the bed I'm lying on. I blush and try to open my eyes.

"S-stop it." I groan rolling onto my side. The jumping stops and I feel hands on my waist. My blush increases.

"Wh-who are you? Wh-what are you d-doing?" I stutter, finally managing to open my eyes.

"You're pretty..." the blonde haired, blue eyed man smiles.

"Uh... th-thank you?" I question, raising an eyebrow.

"I'm Naruto!" he exclaims, giving me a thumbs up.

"I-I'm Hinata." I answer, trying to wriggle out of his grasp feebly.

"Do you have a family?" Naruto asks. My face turns into a sad expression.

"Not anymore. A long while back, a relative of my family was taken. They told my family that he had been turned and that they had taken him in for testing. I felt so sorry for him at first, but then I realized what Vampires were capable of. Then, more Vampires came and burnt my family's house to the ground, my mother and father inside, tied to a statue of my lost relative. Luckily, I was out shopping then. I was walking home when I saw smoke billowing from where I lived and when I got there... I saw the smoldering remains of my house and the charred body of my parents." I explain, my eyes watering.

"Oh. Wait, what's your last name?" Naruto questions.

"Hyuuga. I'm a relative of Neji Hyuuga." I reply. "He killed my family."

"Don't worry Hinata. I will take care of you." Naruto pledges, giving me a tight hug.

"Thank you, Naruto." I reply, blushing.

(Nicole's POV)

I don't know how long I've been down here, but I've been unconcious for most of the time. After I woke up, I went straight into training. I'm still training now. Sweat is dripping slowly down my forehead, making my eyes sting slightly and my ribs are throbbing almost unbearably.

I stop my torturous training as I hear echoing footprints coming down the stairs.

"Who's there?" Kakashi asks from outside my cell.

"Gaara Sabaku with Nicole Peters' night time meal." Gaara replies smoothly.

"Forgive me, Lord Gaara. Nicole has been unconscious for the most part since she has been brought here, but when she has been awake, she has been training very hard, which would be highly painful to her, counting her injuries." Kakashi reports, sliding open the iron door, revealing the blood haired Vampire that I detest so much.

"Well, good evening." Gaara purrs to me, like a chocolate covered razor.

I face the wall and don't respond to him entering. I hear him put the tray on the ground and then he is suddenly right behind me.

"It is polite to reply, you know." he states, an edge to his voice.

"Well, it's not very polite to lock people up in dungeons, is it?" I sneer walking away to the other side of the cell.

He huffs. "Seems you haven't learnt anything. Let's see how long it takes to break you." he smirks. I gulp silently and face the wall.

"I'll be here until I die then." I answer, trying to sound as brave and as confident as possible.

"I doubt that. See you tomorrow." Gaara sighs, waving me off as he walks out of the door. The iron door slams closed behind him. I glare at the door for a while until the sound of footsteps fade.

"Yeah. I bet he poisoned the food or something." I conclude, glancing at the thin soup, bread and water on the tray.

"Like hell am I ever going to eat that." I state defiantly.

_**A month later.......**_

"When did my life start being so unfair?" I ask myself.

"Oh, I don't know. Maybe the night that your _family was murdered_!" the voice inside my head answers.

I've long since accepted that I talk to myself. I no longer think of it as crazy, just as someone to talk to. As soon as Gaara found out I was befriending Kakashi, he had him removed from his post outside his door.

Gaara has brought me news of my friends. He says they are worried about me and have adapted to living as a Vampires mate fairly easily. I can't believe them.

"But... I suppose... they do have the better end. I mean, I'm the one that has been stuck in this cell for an odd month." I think.

"Yeah. You are. Is it so hard as to accept that you are now Gaara's mate?" my other side sighs.

"Yes. It is hard. It's god damn impossible. You're me! You're meant to understand. Even you're on his side." I snarl at my other side. Curling into a mental ball in the corner of my head.

My other side rolls her eyes. "You're being over dramatic."

"No, I'm not. You're being _under_dramatic." I argue stubbornly. I suddenly freeze as footsteps echo down the stairs.

"Shit, he's coming." I whisper to myself.

"Woah. You're the reincarnation of Einstein aren't you." she huffs sarcastically.

"....Shut up self." I hiss.

"Who goes there." the heavy voice of the new guard demands.

"Gaara Sabaku, here to take Nicole back up." Gaara answers.

"Wait, what?" I gasp. Up? As in, to my friends and to open air?

"Yes, Lord Gaara." the guard coughs.

The iron door opens and there appears my worst nightmare, with which accompanies my escape.

"Come on then, Nicole. Let's not keep the others waiting." Gaara smirks, holding his hand out to me. I look at it like it's something foreign. I lean against the wall and lift myself up.

"Before we reach your friends, we are going to have to get you cleaned up." Gaara orders, I nod numbly. I've found it best if I don't answer verbally.

We walk in silence up the stone staircase. I squint as we reach the top. Only spending half an hour a day in light kills when you come out.

My hair has grown a bit longer and I'm fairly dirty. I've lost quite a bit of weight and my tan has lessened so it seems. I'm led up another set of staircases and into the room I was in on my first day here. His bedroom.

"Go into the bathroom and get yourself cleaned up. Try to escape and back down to the dungeon you go." Gaara threatens, pointing to the bathroom door. I nod and go into the bathroom, closing the door behind me. I strip out of my dirty clothes and get under the hot spray of the shower. It feels so good against my tired muscles.

I walk out of the cubicle when I'm finished and see a towel robe waiting for me. Wonder when _that_ was put there.

I pause at the doorknob before going back into the bedroom. I back away from the door and spend a few more minutes away from Gaara. I hear him coming towards the door so I jump up and stand as if I was just about to go out.

I twist the doorknob and see Gaara slightly towering over me. He bends down a bit so that he's level with my neck. He leans forward and puts his face so that it's leaning on my shoulder and his face is beside my neck. He takes a deep breath in.

"You smell delectable." he sighs. I shudder in disgust as his lips brush my pulse point. He leans away again.

"Let's find you something suitable to wear." he suggests. I follow him over to a walk-in-wardrobe and watch as he opens the door. I follow him into the wardrobe and over to the isle of the dresses. I hesitate, which he notices.

"What?" he questions.

"Um... dresses." I sigh. I wince, preparing myself if he hit me. Instead, he laughs.

"It's just for when we're with the others. You can come up and change later, if you want." he offers. I nod.

He looks around for a while, before he picks out a dress. It's actually quite nice.

It's like those older style ones, like in Elizabethan times, when the Plague and all those sicknesses were around. It's floor length, is blood red and has a corset top. It pinches in at the waist and then poofs out a bit at the hips. It's sleeveless so it shows off a bit too much of my cleavage for my taste.

"Great." he mutters to himself.

'Great my ass crack.' I think. My other side sighs impatiently at me.

"Go put this on." Gaara orders, giving the dress to me. I practically run back into the bathroom and then look at the dress with a look that probably stands for, "How the holy fudge fucker am I meant to put this monster on?"

I sigh and take my robe off. I slip into the bottom layers of the dress easily. It's the top layer that's the problem. I slip it on like the others but can't get it done up. I curse the little slippery fucker to hell, until Gaara comes into the bathroom. He laughs at me and walks behind me. I freeze as his fingers fiddle with the top, doing it up tight as.

"There. Turn around." he states. I quickly turn around and he looks at me as if I'm a piece of meat.

"That red is very much your colour." he smirks. I scowl at him slightly. He just shakes his head in amusement.

I follow him as we exit both his bathroom and the bedroom. My mood immediately lifts at the thought of seeing my friends and my steps pick up in speed. Gaara looks at my passive, yet undeniably excited expression and smirks. I look up in time to see him watching me and scowl at him and turn my head to the side. I feel him look back to the front.

Gaara pauses before the doors and his hand rises up to touch my neck. I flinch away from his touch. He sighs impatiently.

"Why'd I have to have such a difficult mate?" he grumbles.

"Why'd I have to have such a murderous, pain in the ass Vampire?" I retort. He sighs again.

"You're not going to get over that in a hurry, are you?" Gaara asks, already knowing the answer.

"Oh, you mean, you murdering my parents and then taunting me about it all the time?" I answer angrily. Gaara glares down at me a bit.

"I don't have to let them meet you." he threatens. I scowl a bit more then turn away from him. He sighs impatiently again and opens the doors gracefully, giving me a full view of the room and the members inside.

"Nikki!" I hear three voices cry and hear footsteps racing over to me. A wide smile envelops my features and I hold my arms open as my friends crash into them.

"God how I missed you." Tenten laughs.

"How long has it been since we saw you last? A bit over a month, wouldn't it be?" Hinata asks. I shrug.

"I have no idea." I reply, my smile still in place.

"Where have you been?" Rachel questions. I narrow my eyes at Gaara a bit.

_In a jail cell in the dungeons._ I answer with my mind, sending the message to the other girls and shifting my vision to the other three males that Gaara is talking to.

"Who are they?" I inquire, gesturing with my eyes to the males.

Hinata and Rach blush and Tenten just sighs somewhat annoyed.

"They're our 'mates' or so I'm told." she answers.

"How are they?" I continue.

"Neji, the brown haired one, is kinda pushy, uber protective and the murderer of Hinata's family. He thinks that everyone around him is weak and everything happens because it's destiny." Tenten states, glaring kind of playfully at the brown haired male, now dubbed 'Neji'.

"Naruto, the blonde one, is hyperactive and fun to be around. He is really cute and determined. Even though he acts really silly sometimes, he's really strong." Hinata stutters, blushing as 'Naruto' winks at her.

I hold down my disbelief and slight disgust.

"Sasuke, the black haired one, is my mate. Remember that man who visited me at the orphanage but we didn't know who he was? That was Sasuke. He is dark and mysterious and really nice when he wants to be. He's understanding and kind." Rachel sighs, glancing briefly over at 'Sasuke'.

I can't hold it in anymore and let the emotion cloud my face.

"How's Gaara?" Hinata asks tentatively. I close my eyes and control the wave of anger that coils inside me. The battle lasts only a second, but doesn't go unnoticed.

"Let's just say, he's not very pleasant." I growl, glaring at Gaara from the corner of my eyes. He glances at me from the corner of his own eyes and sees me glaring. He just rolls his eyes. This infuriates me and I mumble incoherently.

"What?" Tenten asks.

"Nothing." I reply harshly.

Tenten looks taken aback and I take a deep breath and close my eyes. When I open them again, I paint on a sorry smile.

"I'm really sorry, Tenten. I'm just kinda hungry." I laugh, sending another glare at the egotistical, selfish, short-tempered Vampire beside us. Gaara seems to hear what I said and puts his arm around my waist. I slap his hand, but he doesn't remove his arm.

"That's right, Nicole. You must be hungry. When was the last time I gave you food?" Gaara questions.

"Three days ago, you bastard." I grumble. Gaara thinks playfully.

"Oh, really? I thought it was longer ago then that." he smirks. I elbow him in the ribs and he winces a bit.

"That wasn't nice." he mumbles. I glare at him and he sighs in frustration.

"Take a seat and food will be brought to you. It's time for us to hunt." Neji says, gesturing to the table with eight seats.

I don't say a word as I go over to a seat. I stand behind it as I wait for the others to join me. They're all farewelling their mates as if it's the last time they'll see them... and that that's a _bad_ thing.

"What, no goodbye kiss?" Gaara chuckles from right behind me.

"No." I answer harshly without turning around. He leans forward, his chest against my back.

"Why not?" he whispers, pressing his lips to the base of my neck.

"Because it'd be like kissing Satan himself." I hiss back, leaning forward.

He grabs both my arm and my waist and spins me around. I fight against his grip and he just tightens his hands. I wince at the pain. He leans forward again but he doesn't leave me the ability to lean backwards.

His lips gently, yet with a rough edge, press against my own. I try to turn my head, but the arm that was holding my arm raises to hold my head straight. I use this chance and raise my hand up.

Before he can stop me, I slap him across the face, turning his head at the impact.

I manage to smirk through my fear. He looks kinda pissed off. He glowers back down at me, a hand print appearing on his cheek. I hear the others gasp.

He raises his own hand and brings it down with an unmatched speed... or it would've been if I hadn't expected it. I drop to one knee so that the blow misses my head entirely.

I brace myself for another attack, but he just composes himself with a smirk.

"Like kissing Satan?" he asks, anger still glittering in his eyes.

"Worse." I reply calmly. We have a glare off before he leaves the hall. I let out a deep, relieved breath when the three other males leave as well.

"What was that about, Nikki?" Hinata asks. I stare disbelieving at her.

"That's what I thought when I saw your farewells to the Vampires." I retort, putting a hand on my hip.

"I think, if you gave Gaara a chance, you'd like him." Rachel states. My disbelieving stare turns to her.

"You're kidding me, right? You have to be, or your insane! You're even on first name basis with those monsters! That Vampire murdered my parents, had me kidnapped, got pissed at me so he locked me in a dungeon cell for a month, gave me just enough food and water to survive and now wants to act like a happy couple." I roar, clenching my fists. "Like I told him, I'd rather _die_ then accept him."

There is a lengthy silence between us.

"... A month?" Hinata questions weakly.

"Yes. A whole fucking month." I snarl. She shrinks back.

"Cool down, Nikki." Tenten orders, looking at my arms. I look down at them to see them coated in flames. I close my eyes and focus on lowering my temperature.

"Sorry. It's just that he gets me so fired up. My temper runs shorter then usual when he's the topic of a discussion." I growl, taking deep breaths.

"Um... we can see that... uh... let's eat." Rachel suggests.

I sigh and nod, moving back to my chair. We all sit down at one end of the table Rachel across from me and Hinata and Tenten across from each other beside us.

After a while, two waiters come out from a door on the opposite side of the room with two trays per waiter.

They place the trays in front of us silently and then leave through the doors they came through before.

I watch them with wide eyes. A new wave of anger rushes through me. The waiters had chains/collars attached around their wrists, ankles and necks. I didn't miss what the neck braces covered up though.

Bite marks.

Hell no.

"What's wrong, Nikki?" Rachel asks, looking at me with a questioning glance. I take on last look at the doorway before replying.

"Nothing."

I turn my view down to the platters before me. I raise my hand and lift the silver lid off the platter. My mouth starts to water as soon as I look down at the plate.

Sitting there is a piece of choice steak with roast potatoes, peas and carrots. It looks so _good_!

I drop the silver lid on the table, startling the other girls. I can't even comprehend that this could be a chance to escape. The force of my hunger takes over and I dig into my food. I finish far before any of my friends, my stomach no longer in pain but half-full.

I moan in satisfaction.

"Good, Nikki?" Hinata smiles. I manage to nod at her.

"We know how your always cranky when you're hungry." Tenten laughs. I pause in my brief happiness.

"It's not because I was hungry that I was cranky." I grumble. "It was because I was starved for a month."

"You said he gave you food." Rachel inputs.

"Barely." I answer grumpily.

The others finish in silence and a few minutes after that, the waiters come back in, carrying four more trays and taking our used ones away wordlessly.

I lift the lid of this tray and see a chocolate soufflé with cream and a strawberry. I almost faint at this sight. I take my time eating this one, savoring the flavour. Halfway through dessert, the waiters come and bring tall glasses brimming with my favourite drink. Coke. Yeah yeah, childish, yeah yeah. I chug half of it before finishing my soufflé.

I finish the last of my drink and let out a content sigh.

"That's better." I smile.

"Chocolate makes everything better." Rachel chuckles. I sober up.

"Not everything." I reply sadly.

"What do you mean?" Tenten asks. I look at her with disbelief again.

"Chocolate doesn't make the war go away. You can't forget that we are still stuck in the middle of it. In fact, we should be doing something to help the other humans! We're in the middle of the enemy headquarters. Why not take down as many Vampires as we can? That's how we were raised! We were raised to help the humans against the Vampires!" I state, trying to get some of my old friends back.

"Why should we help the humans?" Hinata asks, the same sadness in her voice as I had before.

"What do you mean?" I inquire, frowning.

"Well, they are the ones that betrayed us and gave us to the Vampires." she continues.

I refuse to give up. I hear the great front doors open and footstep echo.

"Forget it. It seems that I'm the only sane one left in the Four." I growl, raising from my seat. The others look troubled over me but ecstatic to see their mates again. I turn to the doors that connect to the entrance hall just as they swing open. I place a dignified scowl on my face as I spot Gaara. He says a quick farewell to the other four Vampire Leaders before almost speed walking over to me.

"Calmed down any, Nicole?" Gaara smirks. I answer him with a stony glare. He gives the other girls a questioning look and they all shake their heads at him.

Oh.

I get it.

I scoff.

"I can't believe it." I laugh, close to chuckling hysterically. "You're working with him!"

"Nikki..." Tenten sighs, reaching her hand out towards me.

"You know what? Don't even bother." I snarl, turning away from them. "I'm tired."

I feel so betrayed. I don't care where I go, just as long as it's away from here. Gaara catches the hint and starts to walk out the dining hall, with me trailing behind. I ignore the further attempts from my friends at communicating with me.

My footsteps, along with Gaara's lighter ones, echo in the empty hallway.

"They were o-" Gaara starts.

"Don't talk to me." I growl, a warning in my voice. "Just because you took my weapons, that does not make me defenseless."

"Are you ever defenseless?" Gaara asks.

"Not anymore." I answer harshly.

Thankfully, he doesn't try to make anymore conversation. Otherwise, I probably would've ripped his head off... or tried to.

We finally reach his room.

"What am I going to sleep in?" I ask, still in a foul mood. Instead of answering verbally, he walks into the closet and to a different section then before. I follow him. He spreads his arms wide, an invitation for me.

"Pick whatever you'd like." he states, smirking a bit. I glare at him a little and I look over the sections.

I end up picking a pair of satin boxers and a black tank top. Gaara watches as I stalk out of the room and into the bathroom. I fiddle around on the wall for the switch and, when I finally find it, I realize why it's so dark.

The window in the bathroom has been blocked out, either for preventing another escape attempt or to blot out the sun.... or both.

Either way, I was tired. I'd learned to sleep during the day, when I was sure it's safe, instead of at night when the Vampires were out. Unfortunately though, I suddenly figure, that isn't a good thing in this situation. I lock the bathroom door and think.

Gaara will also need to sleep, and I doubt he has a couch he can sleep on, or if he would if he did. I'm also in desperate need of sleep, which is already making me vulnerable. If I sleep now, it'll leave me almost completely defenseless.

I change out of the dress anyway, hating wearing the damn things.

I slip on the boxers and tank top much easier. I give out a small sigh at being in something more familiar than a dress. I don't want to go back out to the other room again, where my own, personal hell is waiting.

I sit down on the edge of the bath and wait for a few minutes. I don't want to stay here. I've got to leave, with or without my teammates. I shudder at the thought of leaving without them. I don't think I can do that. So... I either have to leave by myself and comeback for them, or bring them to their senses and take them with me.

I sigh. My mind isn't working on the same level as it usually would. To much has happened and I haven't gotten enough sleep. But, I doubt I'll be able to sleep very well with that monster in the room, let alone on the same bed.

I walk over to the door, pausing before twisting the doorknob and opening pushing it open. I shift the dress on my arm and wonder where I'm meant to put it now. I see a small girl with chains on her neck and wrists and old and fresh bite marks all over her. My breath catches and tears build in my eyes.

"May I take your dress for cleaning, mistress?" she asks. I bite my lip and close my eyes, not letting my tears escape. I glance around the room for Gaara and spot him watching me from the bed. I can't talk to the girl out loud with him there. I take a deep breath and focus my attention on her.

_Don't be scared and don't react to this voice._ I say to her, watching as she suppresses a jump and then a shudder at the heat that arrives with my voice directed into her head.

"What's your name?" I whisper out loud, making the jump and shiver look like a reaction to being talked to.

"Lyna." she replies softly, looking at me with wide eyes.

_I'm going to get you out of here. As soon as I can, I promise._

"It's nice to meet you, Lyna. Thank you." I state as she takes my dress from me.

"Your welcome, mistress." she bows, looking at my eyes and smiling a bit, obviously trusting me.

The door closes behind her as she exits, making a soft creak and a click.

"You're sick." I growl at the Vampire that I can sense is approaching me. "How can you imprison and drink from such a young girl?"

"Blood is blood, my pet." Gaara purrs, wrapping his arms around my waist from behind.

"Don't touch me with the hands that murdered my parents." I snarl, ripping his arms from around me. I go over to the bed and lie down on it, facing away from Gaara.

The light gets turned out, bathing the room in darkness, despite it being daytime.

I miss the sun. I'll never say that I don't. I miss the times when I used to be able to run outside and play in the sun without a care in the world.

I feel the bed shift as Gaara lays down on the opposite side of the bed.

His arms wrap forcefully around me, tightening to an almost unbearable grip. I gasp in pain, trying to wrench myself free. I try to heat myself up, but it's like it doesn't even effect him.

"I can make this most unpleasant for you, Nicole." Gaara warns from behind me.

I suddenly feel a moistness in my eyes that I haven't felt for the longest time. I reach my hand up and touch my cheeks, feeling a wet trail flowing down my skin. I feel Gaara shift a bit closer to me and I shove my face into my pillow, not wanting him to see me like this, so stupid and vulnerable.

"Are you willing to co-operate, Nicole?" Gaara asks, a tolerance in his voice.

"Do what you will. I don't care." I reply harshly, curling up into as much of a ball as I can manage. I hide my face in my hands, unable to stop the tears now that they've started.

I feel as if something has been ripped from me, something vital. My pride. My strength. My willingness to fight. It's all gone.

My fellow humans have betrayed me. My friends have abandoned me. My strength has disappeared on me.

I have nothing left, except the hope of escape.

I finally succeed in crying myself to sleep, unwillingly in the arms of the man who stole everything from me.

_****_

(Rachel's POV)

I sigh contently in the arms of Sasuke and he brings me closer.

Sleep is about to overwhelm me, when his voice interrupts my stupor.

"I was hoping, my love, that you would let me drink form you soon, allowing me to finally claim you as my own." he states, nuzzling his face into my neck.

My eyes snap open in horror and shock.

"So soon?" I ask, breathless.

"Of course." he chuckles.

It feels as if, suddenly, I've been thrown into a bath of icewater after hours of lying in the sun.

How could I have been so stupid? Of course all he's been thinking about is my blood. He wants to drink all he can from me, then turn me into one of his own kind.

I resist hyperventilation at the new found revelation.

Nikki was right. What have we become? Mistresses to bloody Vampires.

"We'll see how these next months go, Sasuke." I whisper to him, listening as his breath slows down dramatically, so that it's like he isn't breathing at all.

Sleep doesn't come to me that night. Not once.

_****_

_**Nicole: Well, there we have it. Installment deux!**_

_**Rachel: You have such a small brain capacity, Nikki.**_

_**Nicole: You know what? You, my friend, are what the Italians call, 'Le Bully'!**_

_**Rachel: Don't you mean the French? e-e**_

_**Nikki: Yeah, yeah. Sure. The German call them 'Ein Bulich', I bet.**_

_**Rachel:...... Right.**_

_**Nikki: That means the Italians call them, 'Le Bullicini'!! :D**_

_**Rachel:............................ !!! OMFGROFLMAOWTMFHBBQ!!! TOTES!! xD**_

_**Nikki: Heehee. R + R plze.**_

_**Rachel: -dies of over-laughter-**_


End file.
